


A Gift

by EmbraceTheEccentric



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Character Death Fix, Fix-It, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-15 18:56:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbraceTheEccentric/pseuds/EmbraceTheEccentric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose send Jack a gift from their parallel universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just so there's no confusion, this takes place post Children of the Earth but Miracle Day hasn't happened because I honestly hate series four. They've also rebuilt the hub.

"I'm sorry. I don't quite understand what's going on." Gwen confessed, staring at the computer screen containing the video image of two people. The computer had flicked on by itself while Gwen had been making tea and when she returned, she found herself looking at the two hackers responsible for the video call.

"We don't have much time. Could you just go and find Jack for us?" One of the people asked. Gwen stared for a moment before nodding and holding up a finger as an indication for patience. Placing her tea down on the desk, she turned and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Jack!" Gwen called, her voice echoing throughout the empty hub. "Jack, where the hell are you?!" Nothing but silence answered her. She caught movement up in Jack's newly rebuilt office out of the corner of her eye and hurried up the stairs.

The new hub was built in the same location as the old one, although it was considerably smaller seeing as how it was only for two people now and they were no longer housing a pterodactyl. And it was constructed at a remarkable speed thanks to special alien tech scavenged from the rift. "Torchwood 3.5" they were calling it.

She reached his office, opening the door as quietly as possible, and scanned the dim room. The only source of illumination came from the main lights in the hub streaming in through the windows. Gwen saw papers and files strewn about the office. Splinters of wood and pieces of glass littered the floor from incidents where Jack's temper had flared. Her eyes finally landed on a figure sitting behind the desk, legs propped up, rocking a bottle of whiskey slowly back and forth against the wooden surface of the table.

"Jack?" She asked quietly. The bottle stopped rocking and he let it rest on the table.

"Leave me alone." He croaked. He'd been crying again, Gwen could tell. That's all he had been doing these days. She could only see his silhouette, but if his face was visible, she was sure his eyes would be red and puffy.

"Jack it's important." She pleaded. He picked up the bottle, took a swig, and placed it back down.

"Unless the world is ending again, I don't want to hear it. Now leave me the fuck alone." Gwen took a tentative step forward into the office.

"But Jack, it's your doctor." She tried again. Jack paused halfway through bringing the bottle to his mouth again. Gwen could see the hesitation. He was considering whether he could take a call from his beloved Doctor.

"Tell him I'm not taking calls." He decided finally before taking yet another swig from the bottle.

"But it's the other one," She said in a last effort. "From the parallel universe. The one you told us about." Gwen saw Jack suddenly stiffen. The bottle slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor, shattering. He stood up swiftly, hardly swaying. Then man had always had a talent for holding his liquor.

"How is that possible?" He asked walking around the desk toward Gwen at an alarming pace. She took a step back. She could now see that his hair was disheveled and there were dark rings under his wide, questioning eyes.

"I…I don't know, but they said they didn't have much time. They're down on the computer." Gwen stepped back quickly to avoid getting run over by Jack as he rushed by and descended the stairs, running over to the computer.

"Doctor?!" He exclaimed. A skinny man in a pinstriped suit and glasses smiled at him from the computer screen.

"Captain!" The Doctor exclaimed back, the smile widening. A moment later, a blonde ducked her head in front of the camera.

"Rose?!" Jack watched as she stood beside the meta-crisis Doctor. Jack could tell from the background that they were in their newly grown TARDIS. Rose pulled a lever, flipped a switch, and waved at Jack. It was apparent she had been learning the mechanics of the TARDIS.

"Hello Jack." She greeted with a smile. Jack managed a small smile in response. He then shook his head in disbelief.

"How are you doing this?" Jack asked as the Doctor looked down and fiddled with some controls.

"A small crack opened up in the rift." He explained. "We've been monitoring it for months with the Torchwood institute here. It's finally grown large enough that we can send a signal through it."

"That's incredible." Jack congratulates, though there was none of his usual enthusiasm in his voice. He shook his head attempting to dispatch some of his grief for the time being. "So how have you been?" He asked, curious.

"Oh we've been fine. We got married, have a baby on the way, all that domestic stuff." The Doctor said waving a hand in the air in a carefree manner as if he were merely talking about the weather. Jack's eyes widened.

"Rose, you're pregnant?" The blonde nodded but held up her hand as he opened his mouth to voice his congrats.

"That's not why we called." She said quickly. "We needed to give you a head's up. It turns out that the crack opened up to the point where we could send someone through." Jack perked up at this.

"Wait, so you're coming through for a visit?" Jack asked hopefully. A visit from the two of them might be just what he needed. But the Doctor shook his head.

"The crack is only big enough and will only last long enough for one person to be sent through." Jack cocked his head to side.

"Well, neither of you will go without the other. Who are you sending?" At this, matching grins appeared on the Doctor's and Rose's faces.

"It's a surprise." Rose said.

"A gift." The Doctor classified.

"A gift? What are you talking about? Who's being sent through?" Jacks asked. But suddenly the video skipped, turning dark for a moment before flicking back on. Jack tapped the monitor as static began filtering through the image, causing it to distort. The Doctor returned to fiddling with the buttons and switches not in view of the camera.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rose asked turning to him and copying his actions. The Doctor shook his head.

"We're losing our connection. We've already sent him through so the rift is closing again."

"Who did you send through?" Jack asked again. "Doctor, tell me." The Doctor just looked up and smiled at Jack, as did Rose.

"I hope this makes a difference Jack." He said. Rose nodded in agreement. Jack could see glimpses of something in their eyes. It looked almost like hope.

"Doctor?" Jack asked again, his voice quieter. He was confused and scared. A "gift" from the Doctor could be anything and Jack didn't enjoy being left in the dark.

"Go outside and have a look. He should be waiting." Rose said as the Doctor returned to playing with the controls in the TARDIS. A wailing alarm began to sound in the background. "And enjoy this Jack. It took a lot to get him over there so don't be quick to reject anything."

"What did you-" But the screen went blank, leaving Jack standing there, staring at it in silence. He tapped the screen again but it remained black.

"Jack, what were they talking about?" Gwen asked from above where she had been observing the whole ordeal. Jack shook his head.

"I don't know." He said turning around and walking towards the lift, grabbing his RAF coat along the way. "Stay here Gwen. We have no idea what's out there."

"But-"

"Stay." He said again, firmer this time. Gwen opened her mouth again but closed it, knowing it useless to argue. She watched as the lift started, carrying him up towards the surface.

Jack blinked as the sunlight got closer and brighter until he was standing outside, with people bustling around him, unaware of the ex-time agent who had just risen from below.

He looked around, scanning for familiar faces or anyone who looked to be searching for someone as well. He stared for a few minutes, never leaving the perception filter, but saw nothing and no one that caught his attention.

"Doctor, you've gotten madder since we parted." Jack muttered to himself. There was no one out here and Jack had gotten tired of searching. He yearned to return to his dark office and whiskey bottle. Although, he supposed he would have to buy a new one seeing as how the other one was shattered on the floor. He took a step off the lift, attempting to recall where the closest liquor store was, when he heard it.

"Jack?"

The captain froze. The voice had come from behind him but he wouldn't turn around. Not because he didn't want to face anyone in the state that he was in. It was because the voice was so mockingly familiar. Jack squeezed his eyes shut trying to convince himself that he had conjured up the voice in his head. But then he heard it again.

"Jack?" This time he spun around immediately and came face to face with a man. But not just any man. This man was someone who now could only exist in his memories, someone who Jack had so unfairly lost.

"Ianto?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short but I promise the final one will be up quickly

Jack never actually had that feeling of falling. That moment where you feel like you took a step but there's nothing beneath you so you just fall for an eternity. He's never gotten that. Not even during any of his numerous deaths has he felt like he was tumbling into an abyss.

Not until now.

Because now he was looking into the eyes of the man he loved, thought to be dead. He was seeing the same sweet, soft face that he had kissed at every possible moment. He saw the dark, wavy hair that he had loved to run his fingers through. And now, as he stared into his bright, blue eyes Jack felt a sense of wrongness, because he wasn't meant to be seeing these things anymore.

"Oh my god, it's really you." Ianto whispered as he embraced Jack, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Jack didn't do the same, only stood there stiffly. Ianto sensed the rigidity because he pulled back and looked Jack in the eyes.

"Jack?" He asked softly. Jack took a step back, causing Ianto's arms to fall to his sides. His face, which was formerly full of surprise and hope, was now crestfallen. "Jack, are you okay?"

Jack swallowed back a lump in his throat. "I'm staring at my dead lover. Do you think I'm okay?"

Ianto blinked and the frown on his face turned into a thin line of forced restraint. "The Doctor warned me about this." He sighed and reached out to touch Jack's cheek but Jack flinched away.

"What the hell is this? A taunt?" Jack spat out. Ianto flinched at the harsh tone and sighed.

"I've got a lot of explaining to do, I know. But if you'll just-"

"Just what? Listen to you? I don't even know how you're here!" Jack shouted. Ianto winced and glanced around. No one was looking their way. Why would they? It was a lover's spat in the street, nothing more. "You died, Ianto Jones. You died in my arms and I have been suffering ever since-"

"Will you just shut up for a fucking second and let me explain!" Ianto exploded. That made Jack fall silent. In that moment he saw that spark of energy Ianto always seemed to have hiding beneath the surface. In that moment he saw his Ianto.

Ianto was breathing heavily and it was apparent that he was trying to calm himself. He took a deep breath and let it out.

"What did the Doctor tell you?" He asked quietly. Jack stared for a moment before answering.

"He said he was sending someone through the rift." Ianto nodded.

"So therefore…" He trailed off, gesturing to himself. Jack noticed that he was wearing his usual attire; a clean-cut suit paired with a red vest. It almost made him smile.

"But I don't understand." Jack said shaking his head. "How could he have sent you through? You died." Ianto shook his head and gave a small chuckle.

"Oh Jack, whatever happened to your open mind?" He murmured to himself. "Have you ever stopped and thought that maybe there was a parallel you…or a parallel Ianto Jones?" Jack's eyes widened slightly.

"You're the Ianto from Pete's world?"

"I'm assuming that you're referring to Rose's father, so yes." Ianto said. Jack swallowed back another lump.

"So that means you're alive in the parallel universe." Ianto nodded "But I don't understand. Why would the doctor send me you? You have your own universe, your own life." Ianto shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Could we maybe talk about this somewhere else? Like in the hub?" Jack began to nod but then stopped and shook his head.

"No, Gwen's in there. I don't to have to explain all of this to her when I don't even know what's going on yet." Jack touched the com on his ear.

"Gwen? Gwen, are you there?" A brief moment later, the Welsh woman responded.

"Jack? What's going on? Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." He reassured her. "Listen, why don't you just head home for the day."

"Why? What's going on Jack?"

"Nothing. I just have some things I need to sort out." He said glancing at Ianto who was now staring down at his feet. There was silence on the other end until Gwen answered.

"Let me know if you need anything." She said finally.

"I will." He assured her. He turned back to Ianto who had looked up from his feet and was staring at Jack again. "Let's go." He ordered and began walking.

"Go where?" Ianto asked, jogging to catch up with him.

"My place."

* * *

"So you actually own a flat?" Ianto asked as Jack unlocked the front door to the home that was never used.

"I never really use it. Usually I just stay in the hub." He swung the door open to reveal a sufficiently furnished flat with a great view of the bay. "It's easier that way." They stepped inside and Jack hung up his RAF coat on a rack by the door.

"I'm guessing parallel me either doesn't have one or he never showed you it either, seeing as how you didn't know about it." Jack speculated as he looked over at Ianto. Something mournful flashed in the Welshman's eyes and for a moment Jack thought he had said something wrong. But it was gone in a second as if it had never been there.

Ianto gave a curt nod as he walked over to sit on the couch in the main area of the flat. Jack followed him and sat down as well, although not as close as he normally would when he was near Ianto.

"So," Jack began looking sideways at Ianto. The man turned and locked eyes with him and for a moment Jack lost his train of thought as he stared at him. "You said you have some explaining to do." He said. Explain away then." Jack leaned back into the couch. Ianto gave a slight smile and a nod.

"I'll try my best sir."

 


	3. Chapter 3

"To be honest, I really don't know where to start."

"Well think quick because my patience is wearing." Jack said, his eyes flicking towards the ceiling. He wouldn't admit it but it was incredibly hard to look Ianto in the eyes yet he wanted to so badly. His brain and heart were battling each other for which was right. But Jack heard Ianto chuckle so his eyes glanced back towards him.

"Remember what Rose told you." Ianto said with a tired smirk. "You shouldn't be so quick to reject anything." Jack's eyes widened.

"How do you-"

"I was there," Ianto clarified. "In the TARDIS with them. I just didn't show my face to the camera." Ianto smiled for a moment but it soon fell. He had gotten that far away look in his eyes as if he were recalling a memory or just thinking distant thoughts. Jack let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

"How did you even know that the version of you in this universe was dead?" Jack asked as a way to get him to start talking. He was surprised his voice stayed steady. He usually couldn't stay calm whenever he mentioned Ianto's death.

"The Doctor told you that Torchwood had been monitoring the rift right?" Jack nodded. "Well, when it was still pretty small, all that could get through was the occasional broadcast or radio frequency." Ianto stood up from the couch and began walking around the flat. Jack stayed on the couch, following him with his eyes.

"Near the time when the rift finally grew big enough for human transportation, we received part of a news broadcast." He said. Ianto paused and hesitated.

"What was it?" Jack prompted. Ianto stopped by a table on one side of the room where Jack had put pictures of loved ones. He picked up a picture of a smiling Alice and spoke without looking up from the photo.

"It was the list of the dead from the 456 incident." Ianto placed the photo back down on the table and turned to look at Jack. Jack, whose jaw was clenched, was staring down at his hands. Ianto leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest.

"The Doctor and Rose were the ones to receive it first." Ianto continued when Jack made no signs of looking back up from his hands. "When they saw my name on it, they contacted me and I went straight over. They knew about my relationship with Jack in that universe and they thought there was a possibility the relationship was the same in this universe. And even if it wasn't, you'd still gain a colleague back and I'd get to be with you again. So from that point on I was monitoring the open rift activity with them."

Ianto glanced back as he said this and saw a framed picture of the Captain and Rose. From the background he could tell they were in the TARDIS and by Jack's hair style, he could tell it was long ago, when he was younger.

"I got along great with the Doctor and Rose. They told me stories of different planets and battles. They talked about you too, asked me to say hello for them once I found you, say that they're doing well." At that Jack looked up with a small smile. He hadn't seen either of the Doctor's for the longest time.

"So anyway, once the opening was big enough, they sent me through."

"But I still don't understand. Why would they send you over here?" Jack asked. "Don't you have your own life in the parallel world?"

"They sent me over here to be with you, Jack." Ianto said with a hopeful smile. And even though seeing that smile made Jack heart skip a beat, he also had to keep his temper from flaring again. How could the Doctor think that he could just send him a different Ianto after the one he had known and loved was lost?

"You're not my Ianto." He said, his voice tight.

"And you're not my Jack." Ianto replied without skipping a beat.

Jack blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." Ianto said, the sadness returning to his eyes. "You're not the only one who's experienced loss here." The room filled with silence. Jack stared at Ianto, and Ianto stared back.

A moment passed.

"The parallel version of me is dead." It wasn't really a question, but Ianto nodded anyway. And then, to Ianto's surprise, Jack chuckled.

"I'm sorry but that's not possible." He said, his laugh dry and skeptical. Ianto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You think you're immortal in all worlds, don't you?" He asked, exasperated. Jack's stopped laughing and paused, considering.

"Shit."

This time Ianto laughed, and by god, Jack would be a liar if he said it didn't sound amazing. He thought he'd never hear that noise again.

"Why would you think you'd be immortal? Rose told me that the only reason you're like this is because of her. There was no parallel Rose there to do this to you. You were just a normal ex-time agent who decided to lead Torchwood 3 in 21st-century Cardiff." Ianto said, walking back over to the couch where Jack was still seated.

Jack shook his head in shock. Even though he sometimes wished he was normal again, it was hard to imagine dying for good. He had seen the darkness and come back from it so many times that it was hard to expect anything else.

"So…how did I die?" He asked finally. Ianto face fell again and Jack wished he hadn't asked. He had finally gotten to see him smile again but then he made it disappear. Nevertheless, Ianto took a deep breath and sat back down on the couch with Jack. He sat closer than he had been before but Jack didn't move away.

"We had the same incident on our universe. The 456 made contact and demanded we hand over the children of earth. When we didn't concede, it raised hell and then we defeated it." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. He was staring at his hands which were tightly clasped in his lap. "But at one point during the confrontation, when you and I were interrogating it, the 456 released a poisonous gas into the air...and it killed everyone in the building."

"Well obviously not seeing as how you're-" Jack trailed off and stared with wide eyes at Ianto who was patiently staring back.

"Ianto," Jack drew the word out slowly and carefully. "If everyone was killed, then how are you here?"

"I'm gonna let you take a guess at that one."

"Ianto, I'm serious!" Jack shouted, his frustration rising. "What does this mean?"

Ianto looked at him, his blue eyes scanning the Captain's face. "Jack, before when you were yelling at me you said that I died in your arms. Well in my universe, you died in mine." He leaned forward slightly, towards Jack. "I'm immortal Jack."

"Bullshit!" Jack yelled causing Ianto, who now had a teasing smile on his face to jerk back in surprise.

"I knew you'd react that way." He murmured under his breath with a small chuckle. When Jack saw Ianto's amused expression, he checked himself and leaned back, taking a deep breath.

"How the hell did that happen?" He asked, calmer now. "Rose was never in your universe." Ianto nodded, still smiling from Jack's outburst.

"Right." He agreed. "But that's not exactly the only way to become immortal."

"So how'd you do it?"

Ianto leaned his head back against the couch and stared at the wall across from them where a television would normally be placed, but in this case it was only blank. It made sense. Why would Jack buy a television for a flat he never used?

"On one of our missions we came across a piece of alien tech at a crash site. The species that made it used it to force its prisoners to live longer. It would bring torture victims back to life so that they could live out their full sentence. When I was taking the equipment down into the archives, it somehow got activated and since it was damaged from the crash, the effects were amplified. We didn't realize what had happened to me until later when we were back at the crash site. The species had returned for its equipment and when we didn't hand it over immediately, they shot person closest to them…which was me." Ianto closed his eyes, his mind going back to that moment. "All I saw was darkness for a while until suddenly I woke up to you sobbing over my body. You nearly had a heart attack when I reached out a grabbed your hand." He said with a small chuckle. He stopped laughing though when he glanced over and saw Jack with a serious expression on his face.

"What's going on in that head of yours Jack?" Jack let out a breath and turned on the couch so he was facing Ianto, sitting cross legged. Ianto copied his movements so they were mirrored.

"Why did you come here?" he asked. Ianto snorted.

"I told you. I came here for you Jack." Jack shook his head.

"Yeah, I know that. But you shouldn't have." Ianto cocked his head to the side in confusion. Jack sighed. "Ianto, I shouldn't have been such a big part of your life. Just because I'm not in your universe doesn't mean that you're not leaving anything behind. What about your sister? You have your sister right?" Ianto nodded but then stopped and glanced down, his hands clenching and unclenching in his lap.

"She thinks I'm a monster, Jack."

Jack blinked. "What?"

"As soon as she found out what I'd become, she was disgusted. I don't know why, she just thought it was unnatural…so she told me that she wanted me to stay away from her and her family." Silence fell. Jack wasn't just hit by the fact that Ianto's sister turned her back on him, but also by what he had said. He had used the same words he'd said to Jack when he had given him orders to execute Lisa. To use those words to describe himself made Jack's heart tighten.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. Ianto shook his head as if to tell him not to express any regret. Jack thought for a moment.

"What about colleagues? Did you work with people named Toshiko Sato or Owen Harper?" He asked.

"We had the same team in the parallel world, if that's what you're wondering. Another one of the broadcasts we received described your team here." He looked up and locked eyes with Jack. "But I'm sorry Jack. They're both dead. The only ones left were me, you, and Gwen. And then the 456 incident happened and…well, you know the rest."

"Our worlds really are parallel." Jack murmured, never breaking the intense staring contest he was having with Ianto. He almost said "I win" when Ianto blinked and cracked a small smile.

"So you see Jack, I'm leaving nothing behind. My boyfriend and my coworkers are dead, Gwen has her own life with Rhys, and my own sister thinks I'm a monster. When the Doctor told me that I could have a chance to be with you again, of course I agreed." He moved closer to Jack, closing the gap between them. Jack enjoyed the sudden nearness. "You're the only steady aspect of my life anymore." Jack swallowed back the lump in his throat.

He was suddenly aware of the fact that they had both subconsciously moved closer to each other and now their faces were mere inches away. Ianto seemed to notice it too because the Welshman blushed and prepared to lean back, thinking he was invading Jack's personal space too soon. But Jack grabbed his face, stopping him, and brought him even closer. The last thing Jack saw was Ianto's eyes widen before he leaned the rest of the way in and pressed their lips together.

It was the same. It was absolutely the same, which was fantastic. There was still that same spark that had always been there. Jack got that same overwhelming rush of emotion that had scared him but delighted him at the same time. It was absolutely amazing to finally be once again kissing the man he thought he had lost forever. When he pulled away, his hands moving down and cupping Ianto's neck, he saw the smile on Ianto's face and realized he was wearing an equally thrilled expression on his.

"I love you Ianto Jones. I never actually said it to you before you died and I have regretted it every day since then. I love you, and I will always love you." Ianto's eyes began to water at the edges. He was beginning to cry but he held it back, as did Jack, whose emotions were beginning to get the best of him.

"I love you too, Jack." Ianto said, his voice cracking slightly. They each gave a shaky laugh and just stayed that way, enjoying being near each other once again. After a few moments Ianto cleared his throat and glanced down, his smile never leaving his face, seemingly fixed.

"So, what now?" He asked. Ianto sounded happy but confused, as if he weren't sure what was going to happen next for the two of them. It was the same uncertainty that the man had had when he and Jack were together, yet not actually labeling their relationship. But really, the only reason Jack never wanted to make anything permanent, to make it verbal and physical, was because no one lived forever. Only he did.

But now it was a whole different story.

"Well," Jack said with a smile as he reached down and took Ianto's hands in his. Ianto looked up and their eyes met; blue against blue. "I suppose we have as much time as we want to figure that out, don't we." Ianto smiled and squeezed Jack's hands.

"I suppose we do."


End file.
